Safe Routes to School – Sign the Petition

Governor Brown is proposing to create a new Active Transportation Program with his 2013-14 budget to make California a leader in bicycle and pedestrian transportation, and we are asking for your support of a petition that urges the Administration to first address several concerns. The proposed new program consolidates several existing programs, including Safe Routes to School (see details below), in order to focus state investment on active transportation safety and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Join the Safe Routes to School National Partnership and a coalition of organizations to ask Governor Brown to:

1) Match 2012 funding levels initially and grow the program funds in the future,

2) Maintain minimum guarantees for Safe Routes to School, Environmental Enhancement and Mitigation, and Recreational Trails within the new program structure,

3) Ensure adequate staff at Caltrans to administer the new program, and

4) Engage stakeholders in shaping the Active Transportation Program, selecting future projects, and prioritizing social equity.

Please sign the petition today (individuals and organizations are both encouraged to sign on) and spread the word so we can get thousands of signatures!

The deadline to sign the petition is January 28 at 5 PM. We have an ideal opportunity NOW to encourage the Administration to make the Active Transportation Program truly transformational in California.

The Governor’s budget proposal does not have dedicated funding for Safe Routes to School within the new Active Transportation Program. The Safe Routes to School National Partnership wants to ensure continuation of Safe Routes to School which has successfully increased walking and bicycling and reduced injuries in California cities and counties since 1999.

A 2012 study in the American Journal of Public Health revealed that Safe Routes to School programs in California have resulted in 27% of students walking or bicycling to school, more than twice the national average. Safe Routes to School encourages more students to walk and bicycle, and addresses traffic safety issues cost-effectively. The California Highway Patrol’s collision reports show that traffic fatalities and serious injuries to children walking and bicycling have declined steadily over the last twelve years of Safe Routes to School.

Help to keep the momentum for the next generation of healthy, safe and active Californians and save Safe Routes to School in California by signing the petition to the Governor today!

The organizations leading this petition include: Safe Routes to School National Partnership, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, TransForm, California WALKS, California Bicycle Coalition, Central California Regional Obesity Prevention Program, California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, and Regional Asthma Management and Prevention.

Click her to sign the petition www.surveymonkey.com/s/M7M5J5L

If you have any questions please contact Marty Martinez of the Safe Routes to School National Partnership at [email protected].

The Actors' Gang

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